A Rhyme and A Reason
by twilitezchyld71
Summary: Can Team Gibbs save each other before it's too late? Featuring the whole team, but definitely TIVA and MCABBY.
1. The calm before the storm

**OK fanfic people. I've read, re-read, and read some more, before deciding to write my own. I've written short stuff for other things, but this is my first on here. I have a few chapters finished and ready to go, but I need input before I post. So get to reading and let me know what you think....**

The sun was shining through the windows of the NCIS building, casting a soft glow on the bullpen. At first glance, it looked as though no one from the MCRT team was in yet. Director Vance stood on the catwalk and looked down upon the entire team, sleeping peacefully.

Special agent Anthony Dinozzo's head was underneath his desk, his feet propped up on his chair. Agent Timothy Mcgee was curled up in a ball, with suit jacket draped haphazardly over his shoulder. Though he could not see Agent David, he knew she was also sleeping behind her desk.

The only one absent from this impromptu slumber party was Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Leon knew that Gibbs would not sleep until the pedophile was behind bars. Though the team had wrapped up the case of the dead marine found in his hotel room in downtown DC, the pedophile that the marine had been keeping tabs on had gotten away.

Vance turned and entered MTAC, unsurprised to see Gibbs standing in front of the screen, instructing some unknown men which man in line at the supermarket was the one they wanted. Vance let him go, watching the man being taken into custody before speaking.

"Agent Gibbs, you have the paperwork for the dead marine yet?"

"On your desk, Leon." Gibbs threw the headset onto the desk and headed for the door. Vance's voice stopped him short of reaching the handle.

"I expect the team to take a day off today, seeing as you have been here since 0500 yesterday."

"Whatever you say, Director."

* * *

"Dinozzo, David, McGee, GET UP!" Gibbs barked, walking into the bullpen, coffee in hand.

Tony scrambled at the sound of his name, subsequently banging his head on the underside of the desk.

As Tony stood up, he noticed McGee rub the sleep from his eyes and rise as well. Ziva had still not moved.

"David!" Gibbs yelled again. In true ninja style, Ziva jumped to her feet in mere seconds, making Tony and McGee jump slightly.

"Everybody go home and get some rest. The Director has given everyone the day off today," Gibbs reiterated.

"really, Boss? We can go home? That's great, I gotta catch up on a couple of things I put off this week because of the case and I…." Tony stopped rambling as he felt Gibbs' eyes bore into the side of his head.

"Shutting up now Boss." Tony grabbed his coat, his pack, and his phone, and took off towards the elevator without a backward glance.

McGee turned and headed down to Abby's lab, not saying a word to Gibbs or Ziva.

"Gibbs, did you get him?" Ziva asked while silently packing her gear, though she knew the answer.

"I always get my man, Ziva, now go home and get some real sleep. I will see you tomorrow at 0700."

Ziva knew when she was dismissed. She grabbed her pack and headed for the elevator. Her bed was calling her name, and her spine was agreeing.

* * *

Ziva was in her favorite pair of sweatpants and an Ohio State shirt that she had confiscated from Tony at some point in the last few years. She had tried to sleep when she got back to her apartment, but her mind would not stop thinking. So she made herself a strong cup of tea, and plopped on the couch, hoping to find some sleep while watching tv. As she flipped through the channels, the doorbell rang.

I didn't order anything, she thought, as she hauled herself off the couch and headed to the door. Ziva looked through the peephole and saw the smiling green eyes of none other than Tony.

"It's Thursday." Ziva sighed and opened the door, as Tony walked in with his Dinozzo grin, carrying a pizza and a six pack of beer.

"I picked up SWAT. I don't really like watching these things, but it would be cool to see how the other guys do it, ya know? Ziva?" Tony stopped talking and stared at the assassin.

"You forgot…"

"No, well, yes, but it is alright, you are already here, and it is Thursday." Ziva's eyes lit up slightly when she mentioned the day of the week.

Tony placed the pizza on the stove, and grabbed two plates out of the cabinet. He tossed Ziva a beer and grabbed one for himself before putting the rest in the fridge. Ziva followed him into the living room and sat down on the couch as Tony put the movie in the DVD player.

The previews came on and Ziva dug into the pizza. It had been a while since they had eaten, seeing as they had been chasing not one, but two, perps through the DC area this week. She sunk deeper into the couch and chased the cheese and pepperoni with a swig of beer as the movie began.

Tony had a slice of pizza on his lap, the longneck in his hand, and slid his free arm around Ziva before she could protest.

She didn't. Tony looked over to see Ziva with a slice of pizza in one hand, a beer in the other, and her head lolling to the side, fast asleep.

"Yeah, it's been a long week." Tony said to no one. He silently cleaned up the food and returned to the couch. He layed Ziva's head in his lap, and placed his own on the arm. They were both asleep within minutes, the movie forgotten.

* * *

McGee walked into Abby's Lab, not realizing he had already made it that far. He was beat. His head was pounding, his shoulder hurt from sleeping on the floor, and his legs ached. This had been a tough case, but they got the dirt bags in the end, and now it was time to go home.

McGee stopped at the door, taking in the scene before him. The room was silent, all the lights were off, and Abby was fast asleep in front of Major Mass Spec, using Bert the farting hippo as a pillow.

"Abby, wake up, Gibbs said to go home," McGee lightly shook her shoulder. She stirred slightly, then resumed snoring.

"Abby, come on, it's time to go home."

McGee shook Abby a little harder, earning a headslap from Bert the hippo.

"McGee! You scared the crap outta me! Do you have more evidence?" Abby jumped up, her pigtails lopsided, as she put Bert back in his place and returned to the center of the room.

:No, Gibbs said we all have off today. The case is closed."

"Oh, ok, let me get my keys, and we can go!" Abby was way to perky for someone who just woke up, but then again, this was Abby.

Abby and McGee left the lab and headed to the parking garage. Abby got in her car, McGee got in his, and they both headed in the same direction… To McGee's apartment.

* * *

Gibbs looked out the window at the bullpen, and watched the parking garage. His junior agent and the forensic scientist were headed to McGee's apartment. And it was Thursday, so Dinozzo was at Ziva's.

Ducky had gone home to take care of his mother, and Palmer went… wherever Palmer goes when he's not in autopsy. Gibbs was not concerned that he didn't know where Palmer went, he shouldn't be in any danger.

As Gibbs walked back to his desk, he glanced at the email still on the screen.

"I KNOW WHERE YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU DO. YOU WILL DIE, ONE BY ONE, UNTIL WE ARE THROUGH. I'LL START WITH ONE, YOU'LL NEVER GUESS WHO, BUT IT'LL BE FUN FOR ME, AND TORTURE FOR YOU."

**Sorry, I love cliffhangers... They keep people interested. So hurry up and let me know what you think!**


	2. Poetry in Motion

McGee entered the bullpen on Friday morning, noting that the rest of Team Gibbs was absent. He dropped his pack in the corner and booted up the computer.

As he scanned through his emails, one caught his eye.

"Who is redneck71?" he thought aloud as he opened the email.

Staring at the screen in disbelief, he quickly read, "THE FIRST ONE TO GO WILL BE THE ONE YOU KNOW THE BEST, THE SOUNDS FROM THERE I DO DETEST. WATCH CLOSELY AND LEARN BECAUSE YOU MAY BE NEXT, FOR THIS ONE WILL GO RIGHT AFTER THE TEXT."

"What the hell?" McGee spoke loudly to no one in particular.

"Grab your gear, we got a dead one in Quantico," Gibbs said, sauntering into the bullpen. Tim's head snapped up and he stared at his boss.

"Uh…Boss? I think you should see this," McGee said, looking at Gibbs. Gibbs eyes darted back and forth, noting that Dinozzo and Ziva had not yet arrived, and walked the short distance to McGee's desk.

Gibbs scanned the screen, eyes growing wide.

"McGee, can you track this to the source?" Gibbs asked, sipping his coffee carefully.

"I should be able to." McGee got to work, pushing through firewalls and blocked signals. In just a few minutes, he had the location up on the screen.

"Uh, Boss? It's a coffee house in Georgetown." McGee handed the sticky note with the address to Gibbs.

"Grab your gear, let's go."

"Aren't we going to wait for Tony and Ziva?" McGee asked, packing his SIG on his side.

"Call them and tell them to head to Quantico. We're going to Georgetown."

* * *

Tony was having a very good dream. He could almost feel Ziva laying on top of him, while he just held her. It was not one of Tony's regular hot and sweaty dreams, that left him wanting more when he awoke, but it was very comforting, and kind of sentimental.

Sentimental? Tony could almost feel the headslap from Gibbs as he slowly opened his eyes and caught a glimpse of a ceiling fan. "I don't have a ceiling fan," He said to himself. As he became more aware of his surroundings, he realized that he had not been dreaming. Ziva was actually on top him, and looked like a small child, curled into a ball, her head on his chest. He did not really want to move, watching her sleep peacefully, but his bladder had other ideas.

Tony quietly slid Ziva toward the back of the couch, enough so he could slide to the floor without disrupting her. As he turned the corner in the hallway, to the head, he heard his cell phone ring in the other room.

"Damn it," his whispered, nearly diving over the couch to get to his phone before it woke Ziva.

"Dinozzo," Tony said quietly into his phone.

"Gibbs wants you and Ziva to head to Quantico. We have a dead marine in a closet." McGee replied.

"Got it McGee. See you there in 20," Tony said, ready to hang up, but stopped as he heard McGee respond.

"No, we're on our way to another case, Gibbs said you take the lead on this one." McGee hung up before Tony could say anything else.

"Ok…." Tony stared at his phone for a second, before placing it on the coffee table.

"Ziva? Ziva, you gotta wake up, we've got to go to Quantico. Dead marine." Tony shook her shoulder, trying not to startle her. Though he knew that she had not fallen asleep last night with a gun anywhere near her, he wasn't taking any chances. Tony was not fond of having the barrel of a gun against his temple.

As he found his shoes, Ziva's head rose from the couch, slightly dazed.

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and stared at Tony, who was bent over, seemingly tying his shoes. Ziva smirked as she sat there, staring at his butt. It was quite nice, really, especially in those jeans.

"If you're done staring at my ass, Agent David, we have a dead marine in Quantico," Tony replied.

How did he know? Ziva thought, as she spun around on the couch and rose.

"I will just get changed, Tony, and then we can leave." Ziva walked into the bedroom.

"He has been spending too much time with Gibbs," Ziva smiled softly, so only she could hear.

* * *

"Uh, Boss? What exactly are we looking for?" McGee asked as the car came to an abrupt halt in a parking spot at the coffee house in Georgetown.

"Clues, McGee." Gibbs did not elaborate as they walked through the door.

"When was that email sent to you?" Gibbs asked, scanning the small café. He was looking for someone, no, anyone, who looked suspicious. Though, these days, just about everyone looked suspicious to him. Must be from all that time spent with Franks, Gibbs thought.

"Um… It was at 0800 this morning, Boss," McGee replied, looking at his PDA.

Gibbs strolled over to the nervous looking girl behind the counter. She had been watching them since they entered, not looking away once. Gibbs didn't like it. It was like she knew why they were there.

"NCIS. Special Agents Gibbs and Mc.." Gibbs didn't get to finish his sentence, for as soon as he had flashed his badge at the girl, she quickly handed him a note from underneath the counter, and ran towards the back door.

"That was odd," McGee said, looking at Gibbs as they heard the back door slam shut.

Gibbs opened the envelope, fully aware that he was not wearing gloves, and read the note.

"WHAT YOU SEEK WILL BE DIFFICULT TO FIND, AND IT WILL SEEM AS THOUGH I AM READING YOUR MIND. HURRY IF YOU WANT TO LIVE, FOR THIS IS JUST A TASTE OF WHAT I CAN GIVE. LISTEN CLOSELY AND YOU WILL HEAR, A TINY NOISE THAT WILL CAUSE MUCH FEAR. I GIVE YOU FAIR WARNING, JUST AS A TEASE, FOR VERY SHORTLY, I WILL HAVE YOU ALL BEGGING PLEASE."

Gibbs re-read the note, McGee looking over his shoulder. McGee stopped reading, his eyes darting back and forth in the small area.

Gibbs closed his eyes and listened. Clinking coffee cups, idle chat from patrons, the tiny whisper of newspaper pages being turned. Nothing out of the ordinary, Gibbs thought, still listening.

Then he heard it. Very faint, but Gibbs could hear it. The minute whisper of a beep, coming from the glass pie case in the far corner of the room.

McGee glanced at his boss, who suddenly took off towards the pies.

Now wasn't really the time for a slice of key lime, was it? McGee thought silently as he followed Gibbs across the room.

Then McGee heard it. There was a beeping sound coming from this corner. Gibbs slouched down and looked at the underside of one of the shelves.

A tiny red flashing light, strapped to a brown package, was blinking: 45. 44. 43.

Gibbs quickly straightened up from his inspection of the pie case, and turned to the small crowd of people in the café.

"OUT! Everybody out now! Bomb!" Gibbs dropped his coffee, grabbed the nearest patrons by the arms, and shoved them roughly toward the door.

Sensing the urgency of the situation, the rest of the people ran for the door. Gibbs turned and looked back at McGee, who was staring, bewildered, at pie case.

"McGee, Move!" Gibbs grabbed hold of Tim and ran for the door. They quickly made it to the far side of the car, as Gibbs slammed his body into McGee's and sent them both to the ground.

BOOM. Shards of glass and building shrapnel rained down on the agents as the ground shook. Bricks and other debris dropped around them as a rather large piece of the building struck McGee in the head.

"McGee!" Gibbs yelled, watching as the agent's head hit the pavement. His cry went unheard, however, as he felt a sharp jab to the head and his world went black.


	3. Listen and Learn

OK GUYS, HERE'S CHAPTER 3. MEANT TO GET IT UP LAST NIGHT, BUT COMPUTER WENT WACKY. AS ALWAYS, LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

**Director Vance hung up the phone and sighed. He had just finished a conversation with Metro, who seemed to have Specials Agents Gibbs and McGee in an ambulance, enroute to Bathesda.**

**Vance looked back at the phone, wondering where Agents Dinozzo and David were.**

**He pushed a button.**

"**Cynthia, please patch me through to Special Agent Dinozzo," he said into the empty room.**

"**Yes, Director," Cynthia's voice replied.**

* * *

"**This is ridiculous," Tony said, wiping his forehead on the sleeve of his shirt. It was hot in this house.**

**He and Ziva made it to Quantico in record time, thanks to Ziva's suicidal driving. When they arrived, they were briefed by the marine in charge of the scene.**

"**Seems there was a party here last night, not uncommon, and according to the neighbor, most of the people left at 2300. There were a few cars left in the driveway at 0100 when the neighbor had looked before going to bed. Two were silver Jettas, and one was a maroon Mazda. And no, Sir, no one got any plates." 2nd Lieutenant Mathers said, flipping closed his notebook.**

"**Thank you, Lieutenant, we'll take over from here."**

**Ziva and Tony had gone through the entire house, taking photos, bagging and tagging, and were currently situated in the bedroom where the dead marine had been found in the closet. Apparently, Lance Corporal Hall had not reported for duty at 0700, deeming a response from patrol to check the home. Patrol had knocked on the door, called the cell and landline registered to the marine, but to no avail. They proceeded to break down the door after checking to make sure the Lance Corporal's vehicle was in the garage, and search the home.**

**Lance Corporal Hall had been found in the closet, bound, gagged, and lacking clothes sans for a pair of boxers.**

**Here sat Ziva and Tony, in the stifling hot room, as far away from the body as humanly possible, waiting for Ducky and Palmer.**

"**I thought these units had air conditioning," Tony complained, sweat pouring off of his head.**

**Ziva paid him no attention, periodically looking out the window.**

"**Something is wrong," She stated simply. Tony looked from Ziva to the window, and back again.**

"**Well yea, Ziva, there's a dead marine in a closet that seems to have been doing the nasty with someone before being offed. That's wrong, but it's nothing you've never seen before," Tony replied. **

"**No, that is not it. Gibbs and McGee are not here. They should have been here by now."**

"**Probie said they had another case, and were headed there. Didn't say that they'd be coming here." Tony remembered the brief conversation from earlier.**

"**I have a feeling," Ziva said.**

"**I think you've been spending too much time with Gibbs," Tony replied, shaking his head. Tony heard footsteps and turned as Ducky and Palmer entered the room.**

"**What do we have here, Anthony?" Ducky said as he put down his bag and kneeled next to the victim.**

"**Lance Corporal Justin Hall, 23, found in the closet bound and gagged." Tony stated, still looking at Ziva. **

"**Liver probe, Mr. Palmer?" Ducky asked, as his assistant began rifling through the bag.**

"**Here you go, Dr. Mallard," Palmer replied.**

"**TOD, Ducky?" Tony asked, finally tearing his gaze away from Ziva.**

**As Ducky opened his mouth to answer, Tony's cellphone rang in his pocket.**

**He took off a glove and flipped it open.**

"**Yea, Dinozzo," He said.**

"**Special Agent Dinozzo, I need you and Ziva to go to Bathesda. You'd better take Ducky as well," the Director said.**

"**Uh, Director? We're at a crime scene right now. The body is still in the room." Tony replied, perturbed that Vance would be telling him to leave in the middle of an investigation.**

"**Gibbs and McGee were taken to Bathesda twenty minutes ago by ambulance. Get there, now." The director hung up.**

"**What?" Tony yelled, staring at the phone.**

"**Anthony, my boy, what is the matter?" Ducky said, looking at Tony's stricken face.**

"**We have to go to Bathesda. Gibbs and McGee were hurt." He stated.**

"**Mr. Palmer, please get the gurney and take the victim back. Come on, Anthony, Ziva, we must go."**

* * *

"**He is sleeping at the moment, Doctor," a nurse said in a hushed voice outside McGee's room. Gibbs had woken up with a pounding headache, ripped the ridiculous needles out of his arm, and left his room in search of his junior agent.**

**He stopped when he heard the nurse speaking to a female doctor in the hallway. **

"**Where's Special Agent McGee's room?" He interrupted them, noting that the nurse was glaring at him with strong dislike.**

"**Special Agent Gibbs, you need to be in bed, you have a concussion, and numerous lacerations that need to be taken care of," The doctor replied, steering Gibbs by the elbow back toward his room.**

"**No, I'm fine. Where's Agent McGee?" He asked again, turning himself back around, and opening the first door he came to.**

**At first glance, Gibbs thought he had the wrong room. He started to turn away, but stopped when he heard, "Boss?"**

"**Yea, McGee, you ok?" Gibbs moved closer to the bed to inspect his agent. McGee had a bandage covering his head, and a few cuts and bruises on his face, but otherwise looked alright.**

"**Yea, Boss. What happened?" McGee asked, raising a hand to his head. It must have hurt to be talking.**

"**You don't remember the bomb in the café?" Gibbs asked, raising an eyebrow.**

"**Yea, and I remember running like hell, but then everything goes blank. I assume the bomb went off." He said, a small smirk on his face.**

"**Uh, ya think, McGee? Everyone else made it out of the way in time."**

**The two just stared at each other for a moment before Gibbs opened his mouth to speak again. He closed it, however, when he heard Dinozzo's voice loudly in the hall.**

"**I am telling you, I am Special Agent Anthony Dinozzo, and this is Special Agent Ziva David, and Doctor Donald Mallard of NCIS, and we are looking for Special Agents Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Timothy McGee. If you don't tell me right now where they are, I will…" Dinozzo stopped ranting at the sound of his boss behind him.**

"**You'll do nothing, Dinozzo, I'm right here," Gibbs replied, and smacked Tony in the back of the head for good measure.**

"**What was that for?" Tony asked, then stopped, looking at his glaring boss. "Thanks, Boss."**

"**Where is McGee?" Ziva asked, looking Gibbs over, to make sure he was alright.**

**Gibbs led the way as Tony, Ziva, and Ducky followed through the double doors and down the hallway.**

"**You gonna tell us what's going on, Boss?" Tony questioned, walking into a hospital room.**

"**How are you, Timothy?" Ducky asked in his best Doctor voice, walking past the team. Ducky looked McGee over and must not have found anything too bad, for after a few seconds, he turned back around to face Gibbs.**

"**Yes, Jethro, I think it rather pertinent that you tell all of us what is going on."**

**The entire team turned to look at Gibbs. He, in turn, looked everyone in the eye and said, "Apparently, we're all in danger."**

"**We are federal agents, yes? Are we not always in some sort of danger?" Ziva asked, but the look in her eyes meant she knew more than she was letting on.**

"**I received an email at 0700 on Thursday, just after the Director sent everyone home, and it said that we were going to be picked off, one by one, until everyone was gone. McGee got a similar email this morning, at 0800, stating more of the same, except it was specific to the who the first victim will be. Once I had him trace the connection, it led us to the coffee house in Georgetown. The girl at the register took one look at us, handed us a note, and took off. We read the note, found the bomb, and here we are." Gibbs said, without taking a breath.**

"**What bomb? What note? What is going on Jethro?" Ducky asked, looking uncertainly to Gibbs and then McGee.**

"**Let's get the hell outta here before we go into details," Gibbs stated, and walked out of the room in search of the doctor to release them.**


	4. When All Else Fails

Ok everybody, this chapter starts a little slow, but you gotta go that route to get where you want to be. Enjoy the following chapter, for we'll soon find out who the bad guy's really after!

* * *

As soon as McGee was cleared by the doctor to leave the hospital - Gibbs didn't ask about himself, he was fine - Ducky drove them back to the Navy Yard. Tony and Ziva were dispatched to go back to the café, by Gibbs, to look for any evidence.

Gibbs, McGee, and Ducky walked out of the elevator and into the bullpen. Once Ducky made sure they were both seated and alright, he left them with, "Advise me when you find something," and headed down to autopsy to check on Palmer and the dead marine from this morning.

"Can you tell me what's going on, Boss?" asked McGee, popping two aspirin from his desk drawer.

"Don't know where to start, McGee. After you guys left, I got this email," he said, staring at his computer screen. Apparently, Gibbs had not closed it out, for fear of deleting it. McGee made his way over behind Gibbs' desk, a place he dare not go without Gibbs present.

He read the email, which was sent from the same name - redneck71.

"What does he mean, I'LL START WITH ONE, YOU'LL NEVER GUESS WHO, BUT IT'LL BE FUN FOR ME, AND TORTURE FOR YOU?" McGee asked, though it was clear what was going to happen.

"They're going to pick us off, one by one, McGee. Do I need to spell it out for you?" Gibbs sighed.

"No, Boss."

"If you put together this email, with the one I got this morning, and the note from the café, we may have a clue as to what is going on."

McGee went back over to his computer, brought up Gibbs' email, his email, and typed in the note from earlier, all on the same spreadsheet.

Gibbs and McGee read and re-read and re-read the messages, not getting very far.

"Geez Boss, I can't believe you guys made it out of there alive," Tony said as he and Ziva entered the bullpen. Tony threw his pack in the corner and walked over to Gibbs.

"There's nothin' left of the place. We searched high and low, and only came up with a burned up electronic lookin' thing. Sent it down to Abby's Lab. So you gonna tell us what's really going on?"

Tony looked into his boss' eyes, and refused to back down.

"We need to know boss, if it concerns all of us. It does concern all of us, right?"

It was McGee who answered. "Yes, Tony, it does. We received three messages so far. The first one through Gibbs' email, the second through mine. The last one we got was from the girl at the café, but it was written using magazine cutouts. Probably won't have any prints on it. The two emails were sent via wifi through the café, which is obviously where he wanted us to go. Here are all three messages."

McGee turned with the clicker and the spreadsheet popped up on the big screen. The team silently read the messages, Ziva's lips moving though no sound came out. Her eyes became wider and wider as she continued to read, not believing what she was seeing.

"What does this part mean?" Ziva asked, re-reading the message to McGee.

THE FIRST ONE TO GO WILL BE THE ONE YOU KNOW THE BEST, THE SOUNDS FROM THERE I DO DETEST. WATCH CLOSELY AND LEARN BECAUSE YOU MAY BE NEXT, FOR THIS ONE WILL GO RIGHT AFTER THE TEXT.

The team stood silently, each deep in thought.

"What does sound have to do with anything?" Tony asked, contemplating the words.

"Apparently this man enjoys rhyming. He is like that man in that movie with the strange people running around in silly suits. The Rhymer?" Ziva asked.

"Riddler, Ziva. And yes, it looks like it. But what does it all mean?" McGee asked.

"Abby's good at this stuff, let's get her to take a look at it," Tony said.

* * *

The music was blaring through the door to Abby's Lab as the team exited the elevator. Gibbs walked straight to the stereo and turned it down.

"Aww, Gibbs, I loved that part!" Abby whined, before turning her chair around to face her guests. She jumped up and gave Gibbs a hug, then turned to Tim.

"I'm so glad you're both ok!" She exclaimed, before turning back to the rest of the team.

"So to what do I owe the honor of Team Gibbs visiting me? It can't be for this thing," replied Abby, pointing to the charred remnants of the bomb that Tony and Ziva brought down earlier.

"I just got it, and haven't had a chance to play with it yet."

"Actually Abs, we need you to look at the email McGee just sent you," Gibbs said.

"Timmy sent me an email?" Abby questioned as McGee's ears turned a rather bright shade of red.

Abby spun on the spot, typing away until the email popped up.

"So El Hefe, what am I looking at?" Abby asked nonchalantly. She slowly read the file, becoming warier with each passing second.

"This is a joke, right?" Abby looked at Gibbs hopefully.

"No, Abby. I received this email yesterday morning after everyone left. The second one was sent to McGee at 0800 this morning, and the last one was handed to us at a coffee house in Georgetown." Gibbs responded, and placed the note he had in his pocket on the table.

"Ok. So obviously, he is speaking in riddles. We need to crack the code. The first one seems to be just a threat, letting you know that something is going to happen."

Abby began rambling as she pointed out each part of the notes.

"The third note is kinda obvious as well, mentioning a tiny beeping noise, which was the bomb. He also mentions that it is only a tease, which probably means that he wants you to know that he's capable of much more. It's this second note that is confusing."

"I don't understand what he means by sounds he detests, that could be anything! No one finds the same sounds bad. And the part about the text. What kind of text? A book, that has text in it. A computer, or a cell phone text, I'm just not sure. So what could it mean?" Abby drew a breath - finally - and looked expectantly at Gibbs.

As Abby had been rambling, Gibbs had been thinking, and thinking hard, trying to come up with something - anything, to figure out what was going on.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by a TING TING. What the hell was that noise? Gibbs thought, searching the room.

"Oh! I got a message!" Abby happily flipped open her black cellphone, complete with a skull and crossbones on the front, and hit the read key.

The eerie voice filled the lab as the agents, Ducky, and Abby stood there, unable to move.

"FEEL SPECIAL, DEAR GOTH, AS I CHOOSE YOU TO BE FIRST ON MY LIST. WITH YOU OUT OF THE WAY, MY PLAN WILL STILL EXIST. SLEEP FOREVER, ONE IN BLACK, BECAUSE WHEN YOU LEAVE, YOU WILL NEVER COME BACK."

The phone went dead. The team could not move, could not articulate, could not do anything but stand there in silence as Abby dropped the phone to the ground.


	5. BuggedAnd Buggin

So Sorry Everybody! The stupid power company had to put up a new transformer and shut off my power yesterday. I had a dead battery on the laptop and couldn't get this to you until now. So here's Chapter 5. Enjoy!

"Ok, so no one leaves the building. That's a given. Then we just make sure that we don't leave Abby alone." Tony ran a hand through his hair, drawing a ragged breath. He was the first one to speak after the message had been played.

"Ya think, Dinozzo?" Gibbs said. Tony braced himself for a head slap, but it never came. Instead, Gibbs began pacing the room, looking for something.

"You think he's been in here, Boss?" McGee asked.

Gibbs didn't answer, but instead, turned to the small windows, showing the street outside. With one swift motion, he seemed to have captured a fly, mid-flight. When he turned to face the team, he opened his hand to show them the bug.

"He didn't have to. He could have placed it in the window any time Abby had it open."

Instead of Gibbs continuing the conversation, he headed toward the stereo, and turned it back up, in case there was another listening device in the room.

"Good Idea, Boss!" Tony yelled, holding his hands over his ears, "But how the hell are we supposed to… Hey! The Sound!"

"What did you say?" Ziva too had her hands over her ears, and raised her voice so everyone could hear her.

Gibbs was not paying attention. He was having a conversation with Abby, without making a sound.

"We need to stick together. You have to come with us up to the bullpen." Gibbs signed.

Abby replied, again with ASL, "I can't leave my Lab! What about the pieces of the bomb? What about the evidence from the dead marine from this morning?"

"Upstairs! Now!" Gibbs did not sign this time. He was loud enough, Ducky had probably heard him in Autopsy.

* * *

"So the Sound meant Abby's music?" McGee asked, dropping into his seat behind his desk. Abby had perched herself on the edge of his desk, as there was nowhere else to sit.

"And obviously, the text meant the message Abby received, but we are no closer to figuring out who this is or what they are planning," Ziva stated.

"What now, Boss?" Tony asked.

"I need coffee." With that, Gibbs walked to the elevator.

* * *

It was like déjà vu. Gibbs walked into the bullpen, taking in the scene before him. Ziva snored slightly from behind her desk, her pack as a pillow. Dinozzo was on the floor, his legs stretched up and out, so that his feet rested on his desk. McGee slept in his chair, head lolling to the side. The difference, this time, Abby was at McGee's feet, sleeping with her head in his lap.

Not for the first time, Gibbs sat down at his desk, turned the lamp off, and kicked back for a quick nap. He wanted to stay alert, for signs of anything out of place, but even he knew he had to sleep sometime. The team would be safe here, for tonight, he thought.

* * *

Abby was standing on top of Tony's desk, trying to persuade McGee to get up and dance with her. Tony and Ziva were dancing the Salsa on in front of her, Ziva shaking her hips while Tony drooled slightly. Vance paced the catwalk, talking to Bert the Hippo, asking him what to do about the Secretary of the Navy, who kept calling Vance for advise on his love life. Gibbs was at his desk, drinking a cup of coffee, playing poker with Ducky. Even Palmer was there, leaning over Ducky's shoulder, telling him what cards to play. As Abby looked toward the window, a dark cloud cast an eerie shadow through the bullpen. The team stopped what they were doing, to look at the windows. Suddenly, a thick, black cloud of smoke crept through the sides of the windows, engulfing everyone in the building. Abby could not see anything. She squinted through the smoke, trying to bat it away with her hands.

Then, like magic, the smoke was blown away, revealing the room. Abby stared in disbelief as all of the agents lay dead upon the floor.

"No…. No…. Wake Up… Please…."

McGee had woken up, painfully, to Abby digging her nails into his calf as she pleaded in her sleep.

"Abby. Abby? Wake up, you're having a dream." McGee shook her shoulders, trying to wake her up.

"No, Gibbs! You can't Die!" Abby yelled loudly, waking the rest of the team.

"Abby, wake up!" McGee tried more forcefully.

Suddenly, Gibbs was in front of McGee, and squatted down next to Abby. He grabbed her shoulder, and said, "Abby, I'm not dead, I'm right here."

Abby's eyes quickly opened, then filled with tears, as she almost knocked Gibbs to the floor in a bone-crushing hug.

"Gibbs! You're not dead!" Abby pulled away, just enough to give Gibbs a smile.

"And you're not dead either, Abby, and none of us will be," McGee patted her awkwardly on her shoulder, seeing as he was still pinned in the chair by Abby and Gibbs on his legs.

"So what's the plan, Boss?" Tony was bent forward in his seat, leaning on the edge of his desk. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.

When Gibbs stood up, he looked around at his agents. They all looked like they hadn't slept in days. Hell, he felt like he hadn't slept in weeks.

"Alright. Enough of this. We have a dead Marine on Ducky's table, and we need to find out what happened. McGee, get me bank statements from Lance Corporal Hall. Dinozzo, I want his phone records. Anyone who's called him more than twice in the last week, we need in here. Ziva, you take Abby down to the Lab and help with the evidence from the crime scene." Gibbs ordered, and walked out of the bullpen, toward the Director's office.

"Who spit in his breakfast this morning?" Ziva questioned, rounding her desk to grab her cellphone.

"Uh, Ziva? It's pissed in his cornflakes," McGee replied, typing away on his keyboard.

"Why on earth would one want to 'piss' in someone's cornflakes? That is disgusting…" She said, shaking her head and following Abby to the elevator.

"But what about the crazy guy trying to kill Abby?" McGee looked over at Tony.

"Maybe Gibbs has CRS. I guess he thinks we're safe if we don't leave."

"What is CRS?" McGee asked, looking back up from his computer.

"It's Can't Remember Shit, McGee," Gibbs replied, walking back into the bullpen.

Tony got a headslap.


	6. Chapter 6

I AM SOOOOOOO SORRY GUYS! IT HAS BEEN FOREVER AND A DAY SINCE AN UPDATE! LIFE SEEMS TO KEEP GETTING IN THE WAY! I AM GIVING YOU THIS CHAPTER NOW, BEFORE I RUN OUT THE DOOR TO HELP MY BROTHER MOVE INTO HIS VERY FIRST HOUSE (YAY! FIRST TIME HOMEOWNERS!) I HAVE THE NEXT CHAPTER JUST ABOUT POLISHED, SO THAT'S COMIN' UP TONIGHT! REVIEW, CAUSE THEY'RE LIKE SUGAR TO ME, AND MY COFFEE IS WITHOUT TODAY!

"Gibbs! I can't take it anymore!" Abby cried when she heard the elevator ding.

"I need to take a shower and change! I need to go home!" Abby continued to rant, without turning around."I agree with ya, Abs, but how are we going to get Gibbs to let us go home?" Not Gibbs' voice.

Abby turned around to face Tony, Ziva, Ducky, and McGee, all of which had crowded around her when she spoke.

"Easy! I'll go home with Timmy, you and Ziva can watch each other's backs," at this point, Tony was eyeing up Ziva, as she gave him the once over herself, "And Ducky can stay with Gibbs! That way, none of us are alone!"

"That just might work, Abby. We will need to find the right time to talk to him, and we do not want to jump the rifle," Ziva replied, thinking thoughtfully.

"Gun, Ziva, jump the gun," McGee corrected, then turned to Ducky.

"Do you think he'd go for it, Ducky?"

"I believe if we hurry to finish this case, he just might, Timothy," Ducky said.

Suddenly, the whole team had begun rushing around Abby's lab - Tony had his cellphone to his ear, and a pencil in his hand; McGee had grabbed the nearest computer and began to tear through Lance Corporal Hall's encrypted files on his computer; Ducky had rushed back to Autopsy, to make sure the reports were pristine and perfect; and Ziva had followed Abby back and forth, dead-set on helping her with anything that she possibly could need to figure out who the murderer was.

"Dinozzo! Whadaya got for me?" Gibbs barked as he marched into the bullpen. Then, he stopped. He took a sweeping look at the room, turned heel, and went back around the corner. At the stairs, Gibbs turned back around, and walked back to the bullpen, fully expecting his agents to be seated at their desks, typing furiously or rambling on the phone to people connected to the case.

As it was, Gibbs was still staring at an empty group of desks.

"Now where the hell did they go?" Gibbs said to no one, jamming his finger on the down button for the elevator.

"Lance Corporal Hall was killed by a lethal dose of PCP to his system. I still can't believe I didn't see the puncture wound until Mr. Palmer pointed it out behind his ear. I have never seen anything like it," Ducky told Gibbs down in Autopsy. Ducky walked around the body, leaning down to show Gibbs the tiny pinhole. As he looked at the puncture wound, something else caught his eye. Turning Lance Corporal Hall's head to the right, Gibbs pointed to a blackened spot on the back of his neck.

"What's this?"

Ducky grabbed the magnifying glass of the table next to him and leaned in closer.

"I did not see that before, Jethro. It looks like a tattoo of some sort." Ducky grabbed a scalpel and cut a tiny line around the tattoo on the back of Hall's neck.

"Mr. Palmer, please take this up to Abigail," he said, handing the specimen jar to Jimmy.

Though the case had been solved in mere minutes of Gibbs' return to the bullpen - "It's always the girlfriend, Zeevah…" Tony mocked from the safety of his desk, Abby still had not figured out the strange tattoo from Hall.

From what Abby had gathered, the tattoo was miniscule words, set in a circular pattern, getting progressively smaller as they reached the center of the piece. It would have been a snap for Abby's hi-tech microscopes, except for the fact that it was in a language that she'd never seen before.

Abby had sent photos to a few of her contacts, to see if they could figure it out. The team had come and gone, all taking turns looking at it. Not one of the team had been able to help.

Abby turned the lights and stereo off in the lab before heading to the elevator. She made her way up to the bullpen with her lunchbox and coat, praying that Gibbs would let them all leave tonight.

"I mean, it's not like we can't take care of ourselves," Tony said, leaning against McGee's desk. "And we haven't gotten any freaky letters or emails since the last one."

"I agree. We need to go home. I want to have a hot shower, and try to relax. I do not want to sleep on the floor again," Ziva added.

Abby made her way into the bullpen behind Tony and stopped next to McGee.

"Is he letting us leave?" Abby asked McGee quietly.

"I don't know Abbs, we haven't seen him since he went up to Vance's office an hour ago," McGee replied. All eyes turned to the catwalk, looking for signs of life at this late hour.

Most of the other agents had gone home for the night, so the floor was empty sans the MCRT team and Abby. A vacuum was humming off in the distance, and the plasma was whispering headline from the 10 o'clock news.

"Go home," Gibbs' voice said out of thin air.

The team looked around in surprise, seeing Gibbs grabbing his gear out of the drawer in his desk.

"Really, Boss? Like, Home, Home?" Tony asked, his brow raised in curiosity.

"Home, DiNozzo, as in you take Ziva to your home, and McGee takes Abby to his. Ducky and Palmer will be bunking with me. I want you all in at 0500, and call me if you hear the faintest creak in your stairwells." And with that, Gibbs met Ducky and Jimmy at the elevator and left.

"Oooh! Sleep over!" Abby exclaimed, wrapping her arms around McGee from behind, cauing him to blush.

"Well if I must be going to your home, it is only fair if I drive there," Ziva replied, snatching Tony's precious Mustang keys from his hand and taking off towards the stairs.

"Like hell you are, that's my baby!" Tony retaliated, grabbing his suit coat and bolting after Ziva.


	7. Long Night

HEY READERS! HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER! IT'S NOT AS LONG AS THEY USUALLY ARE FOR ME, BUT I THINK THE IMPACT IS THE POINT. RIGHT? THANKS TO ALL FOR REVIEWS AND ALERTS!

The small house looked dark, with the exception of a sliver of light, shining from a basement window. To those who just happened to pass by, they would think that a light was simply left on. To those who knew the man living there, they knew he was sanding away on his next boat.

As Gibbs continued to whittle away at the wood, he slipped into thought of the last few days. His team didn't seem to be worse for the ware with all the cases, and a crazy lunatic writing deadly poetry to them. Ducky knew something was up, but seemed to realize that Gibbs would handle it. Gibbs didn't believe for one second that Jimmy Palmer had a clue what was going on anyway.

Ducky was safely tucked away in Gibbs' guest bedroom, while Palmer had taken the couch. Gibbs was Gibbs, sipping bourbon in a mason jar, sanding his boat. There was no way that he could go to sleep when he had two other people to protect. It was going to be a long night.

Across town, as a woman settled into a soft leather sofa wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants, a man returned from the kitchen with two bottles of beer and a bowl of fresh popped popcorn.

"Do we have to watch this? It's a chick-flick, Zeevah!" Tony whined, plopping down on the couch next to her. He was in similar attire as the assassin - an Ohio State t-shirt and NCIS sweatpants.

"I would like to see it. The reviews were very good," Ziva replied, hitting the play button to the dvd player.

As the opening credits for Twilight popped on the screen, Tony leaned back and groaned inwardly. This was going to be a very long night.

If the neighbors peeking through the windows of their apartments saw something out of the ordinary in their quiet little establishment, they did not say so. They watched in silent wonder as their neighbor walked towards the front door of the building with the strangest person they had ever seen.

"Who wears that much black?" One wondered, as another thought to themselves, "Is that girl wearing a dog collar around her neck?"

McGee and Abby stepped up to the front door of his apartment and looked around. Curtains suddenly swished back into place, silently. Making sure everything in the hallway was copasetic, McGee quickly unlocked the door and ushered Abby inside. Following her lead, he closed the door and locked both locks and the deadbolt. For good measure, he slid the chain through it's spot on the door as well.

"Better to be safe than sorry," he replied when he turned around, as Abby had stood there looking at him like he had just grown two heads.

"Timmy, I think we should look at that tattoo again," Abby said, dropping her lunchbox on the counter and dropping into the nearest seat at his computer desk.

She pulled the photo of the tattoo out of her back pocket and laid it on the table.

"I think we're looking at this wrong, Timmy. I can't figure it out, but it feels like the answer is right in front of my face, and I can't see it!" Abby yelled, raising her voice out of anger to herself.

Tim sunk into a chair at the table across from ranting Abby, and thought to himself, "This is gonna be a long night."

The man put his cigarette out on the ground from his position in the woods. His telescope with a night-vision lens was perched precariously on a tripod, aimed at the target. As he looked through the telescope, he could not sense any fear radiating from his target. It was very disturbing to think that these people, who put their lives in danger everyday, were blowing off his threats.

It was time to get serious.


	8. No sleep for the weary

Tony turned his head from the offending light. He had been in the middle of a fantastic dream about him and Ziva in the Bahamas, lying on the deserted beach. Ziva had just moved closer to Tony, intent on kissing him silly, When a blinding light was shining in Tony's face.

"Tony," the light whispered. "Tony, get up! There is someone trying to get in the door!" Ziva whispered harshly in his ear.

Tony scrambled off the couch, banging his knee off the coffee table in an attempt to roll into a sitting position, and dove to the end table for his back up weapon.

As Ziva made her way to the door silently, Tony took up a position behind the kitchen partition. Before Ziva could open the door and shoot before asking questions, Tony motioned to look through the peephole.

Before Tony could blink, Ziva was opening the door and ushering people inside.

"Boss! You scared the crap out of us! Why didn't you call first?" Tony asked, running a hand through his already disheveled hair.

Ziva relaxed into the kitchen table chair as Ducky and Palmer shuffled to the couch and loveseat, intent on returning to sleep.

"We got another note," Gibbs said, by-passing Tony and heading to the dormant coffeemaker on the counter. Ziva looked up from her place behind the table.

"Where is it? What does it say?" Ziva asked, arching a brow.

Gibbs produced a plastic evidence bag with the note already in it.

"I found it taped to the sliding door in my kitchen."

As if that explained everything, Ziva stepped closer to Tony to read the threat.

YOU HOLD THEM DEAR TO YOUR HEART, YOU THINK YOU'RE SO SMART.

I KNOW YOUR FLAWS FEARLESS ONE, I KNOW THE THINGS YOU HAVE DONE.

YOU CANNOT SAVE THEM ALL, AND YOU WILL BE THE ONE TO TAKE THE FALL.

Tony stared in disbelief at the letter before letting it drop to the counter.

"This makes no sense, Boss. He's threatening you. Maybe we should think about the people you've pissed off in your life."

Gibbs gave his famous stare before slapping Tony in the back of the head.

"Think about that, DiNozzo. Who have I not ticked off? The list would be miles long," Gibbs replied, picking the letter back up and putting it in his coat pocket.

"Keep an eye on Ducky and Palmer. I'm gonna take this to Abby to see if we can get any prints."

Tim's head lulled to one side as he slept at the kitchen table. Abby had talked herself into sleep, laying her head on the photo of the frustrating tattoo. When the ringing of a phone sounded somewhere inside the apartment, Tim snapped to attention, searching for the offending sound. He found the phone on the counter by the fridge, and snapped it open with, "McGee."

"Yeah, Boss, I'm up. No, but she will be," he replied, snapping his phone closed.

"Abby, ya gotta get up. Gibbs is coming over. He has another note." McGee shook Abby's shoulder slightly. She began to stir, raising her head from the table with the picture stuck to her cheek.

As she peeled it from her face, there was a sharp knock at the door. McGee went to let Gibbs in, as Abby stalked to the refrigerator in search of something remotely close to a Caf-Pow!, before Gibbs made her work on half an hours' worth of sleep at the table.

"Abbs, I need you to.." Gibbs began, handing Abby the letter.

"Check for fingerprints and another anomalies on the paper. Got it, Gibbs," Abby finished for him, searching the small kitchen for her shoes.

"Where do you think you're going, Abby? It's 1am!" McGee started, holding one of her shoes in his hand.

"I have to get to the lab, Timmy. We have to find this guy," Abby replied, grabbing the shoe from McGee's hand and putting it on.

She gave McGee a kiss on the cheek before following Gibbs out the door.

"Wait! I'll go with you," Tim yelled down the hall, tripping on his shoelaces as he ran after them, shoving his arms in his coat sleeves.

Gibbs grabbed the keys from his pocket and hit the remote to unlock the doors. The moment the parking lights flashed, chaos ensued.

A crack was heard before the entire car exploded. It seemed to happen in slow motion. Abby, McGee, and Gibbs stood in shock as the car's doors blew off in every direction. The windows shattered with detonation, and the interior burst into flames. Gibbs turned to Abby and McGee, grabbing them both to hit the pavement before the flames took over the gas tank in a second explosion.

The last thing Gibbs saw before he blacked out was the feet of many people running from the apartment building towards them.


End file.
